This article was prepared with the assistance of ABIL, the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers, of which Loan Huynh is an active member.
On March 24, 2025, the Department of Labor's (DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) announced annual updates to allowable monetary charges that employers of H-2A workers, in occupations other than herding or production of livestock on the range, may charge workers when the employer provides three meals per day. The notice also announced the minimum and maximum amount of travel-related subsistence reimbursements required under the H-2A and H-2B programs and reminded employers of their obligations for overnight lodging costs as part of required subsistence and reasonable travel costs to and from a worksite.
The updated maximum allowable charge for meals is $16.28 per day, and an employer is not permitted to charge a worker more than that amount unless an Office of Foreign Labor Certifications Certifying Officer approves a higher charge.
The standard meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) rate for the continental United States (CONUS) is $68 per day for 2025. Workers who qualify for subsistence reimbursement are entitled to reimbursement for meals and lodging up to the standard CONUS M&IE rate when they provide receipts. In determining the appropriate amount of reimbursement for meals for less than a full day, the notice states, the employer may limit the meal expense reimbursement, with receipts, to 75 percent of the maximum reimbursement for meals, or $51, based on the General Services Administration per diem schedule.
The notice states that an employer is responsible for costs necessary for the worker to travel to the place of employment if the worker completes 50 percent of the work contract period. The employer also is responsible for the costs of return transportation.
